I Was A Lonely Soul (But That's The Old Me)
by Maegfen
Summary: A series of missing scenes to show how Jamie and Mitch's relationship changed over the course of Season 1 and beyond. Canon compliant.
1. First Contact

AN: So the other week I binge-watched this show and fell in love with it, from the cheesy science to the lovely little found family that was created by the end of the season. I especially fell in love with Mitch and Jamie and their relationship, so I decided to fill in some of the gaps in canon; this is the result!

Fic title taken from 'Feel Again' by One Republic, which someone on tumblr mentioned as a potential otp/ vidding song for these too; I'm not good at making vids, but the lyrics stuck with me!

* * *

Her conversations with Ethan and Fremer leave a bitter taste in her mouth and it isn't until she's sat down in front of her laptop once more that Jamie decides that aiming right for the jugular of Reiden Global just isn't going to work, as much as the realization irritates her. Jamie pours herself another cup of coffee and halfheartedly dumps some sugar and milk into it, absentmindedly stirring the drink while considering her options. She reaches for the remote and switches the TV back on, muting it as soon as the picture comes up on the screen. The channel is still showing the same story, the same clips, from earlier and Jamie wonders how long it will take before the three lost lives are forgotten and something else grabs the nation's attention.

She picks her notepad, hastily abandoned when she practically stormed back into her apartment, up off the edge of the kitchen counter and flicks through it in a vain attempt to find something of note that hasn't jumped out at her in the previous four hours. A flash of motion catches Jamie's eye and she looks up to see the news channel broadcasting Fremer's interview again, the backdrop of the City of Angels Zoo looking quaint and jolly, no visible indication that a man had lost his life there mere hours before.

Jamie watches Fremer's face on the screen again, before her gaze switches to a couple of zoo employees standing slightly to the side of the shot, both of them looking uncomfortable. No doubt, Jamie considers, they've been placed there to show the zoo's support of whatever lines Fremer wants to spin about zoo safety.

Jamie considers the zoo itself, deciding to ignore the man speaking on the screen. There's no point confronting him again; he'd made it plainly clear he had no intention of speaking to her about the attacks. Still, she wonders idly, as she takes another sip of her coffee, surely someone at the zoo suspects something, anything, that might implicate Reiden. Jamie wanders back through from the kitchen and sits down at her desk, notepad to her right and laptop in front of her.

It takes a few seconds to pull up the City of Angels Zoo website, and Jamie glances over the main page, which is still trying to pacify the public's fears, a ticker line scrolling across the screen trying to convince the general population that the zoo is still a safe and entertaining place to visit.

Jamie scoffs at the sight, frustrated that the zoo hadn't even closed for the day while they investigated the cause of the lion attack; even more proof that profits were deemed more important than safety. She taps her pen against her open pad while she scans every available page and blurb, her frustration mounting with each dead end.

She trawls through the website's links, hoping to spot someone, anyone, who might be able to help her in her own inquires. The staff page gives her a bit of luck and Jamie hastily scans through the various names, titles and job descriptions. A few people jump out at her as her eyes scan the screen; Aspen Green: Senior Zookeeper, Kevin Wilkes: Head of Security, Dr. Mitch Morgan: Veterinary Pathologist.

It's the last name out of the three that gives her pause. Surely someone in the veterinary field would have picked up on the strange animal behavior the lions had displayed both before and during their fatal attacks?

There's no picture to go with the name, but Jamie doesn't think about it as she reaches for her cell and punches in the number for the main zoo switchboard. After a couple of minutes of listening to the same old hold music, she's finally put through to a human being.

"Hi," she starts, putting on her most bubbly voice; a tactic that's worked for her since her earlier college years. "My name's Jamie Campbell, I was wondering if I could possibly speak to Dr. Mitch Morgan please?"

The woman on the other end of the line seems dubious as to her intentions, but Jamie's been a journalist long enough to be able to spin a good story when she needs to, so she charms the woman into believing that she is considering studying to be a vet, she's heard good things about Dr. Morgan's expertise in the zoological field and could she please just have a brief chat with him about what the job entails?  
Jamie holds her breath as the woman chuckles at her enthusiasm, and soon she's being patched through to the elusive Dr. Morgan. Her foot taps impatiently on the floor as she waits to be connected, although the dull rings in her ears are a welcome relief from the terrible muzak of before.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, but is probably 30 seconds at most, the ringing stops and Jamie listens carefully as someone eventually picks up the call.

"Hello?"

The man who answers sounds slightly gruff and, despite it being almost three in the afternoon, Jamie wonders if Dr. Morgan has literally just crawled out of bed and into his office.

"Uh… hi Doctor Morgan. I'm Jamie Campbell, I'm calling from the L.A. Telegraph."

There's a pause. Jamie holds her breath and waits to hear the dial tone signalling that he's hung up on her; there's no guarantee that Barbara the helpful receptionist hasn't told him about her reason for calling.

"Right," he utters down the line. Jamie thinks he sounds like he's bored of the conversation already, and briefly considers that maybe he isn't the right person to be talking to about all this. However, it's barely a couple of seconds before the man on the other end of the phone surprises her.

"So, what can I do for you Jamie Campbell from the L.A. Telegraph? Something actually relevant to my line of work? Or are you conducting an experiment into how many receptionists you can bluff your way past on any given day?"

His bluntness is, quite frankly, refreshing. The fact that Dr. Morgan, who still sounds half asleep and entirely bored, hasn't hung up on her despite her lies is enough to put Jamie slightly on the back foot.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sorry; no personal intentions to work in the veterinary field, just an excuse to speak to you directly." Jamie swears she hears a soft chuckle, but the noise is masked by the clatter of something on his side of the line. "I'm actually writing a piece for the paper on the lion attacks at the zoo and I was wondering if you'd consent to a brief interview about what happened?"

Yet another lie slips easily off her tongue, but this stranger isn't to know that she lost her job earlier that day. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, Jamie decides.

Morgan huffs down the phone at her, and Jamie distinctly hears the sound of a coffee mug being placed rather indelicately on a table.

"Look, I've been told we're not supposed to be talking to the press about the incident."

"I see," Jamie sighs, annoyed that she's hit another dead end. "Well, I'm sorry for bother…"

"But," Morgan continues, ignoring her completely, and Jamie can almost hear him smirking, "an off the record chat should be fine; as long as I'm not cited as a source I'll go along with whatever questions you have." He pauses again. "Within reason."

"Oh wow, really?" Jamie exclaims, before remembering herself. "I mean, that's excellent news Dr. Morgan, thank you so much."

"I'll be at the zoo until six this evening if you can make it at some point before then?"

Jamie grins to herself, and just about resists doing a small celebratory dance at the first piece of good news she's had all day. She feigns a small cough and composes herself before she replies to his invitation.

"That's fine Dr. Morgan, I'll head straight over. Shall I call in at Reception or…"

"I'll be in the lion exhibit," Morgan interrupts again, "I'm collecting samples this afternoon as part of the zoo's internal investigation; you'll find me there when you arrive."

It's only then that he hangs up, and Jamie's grin widens. For the first time since she found out about the attacks she's got a solid lead, a potential whistle-blower within the zoo and the opportunity to discuss Reiden's culpability for the incident.

Jamie picks up her abandoned pen, quickly scribbles Doctor Mitch Morgan at the top of a fresh page, underlining it a couple of times, before she smiles to herself again. She has a feeling, deep in her gut, that her meeting with Dr. Morgan will be just the kick start she needs in her investigation. Jamie drains her coffee mug and dumps it in the sink before she shuts down her laptop and the TV.

Grabbing her car keys she heads out of her apartment, determined to get to the zoo, and her interview with Mitch Morgan, as soon as possible.


	2. A Better Alternative to Lesson Planning

Set near the end of 01x01, after Mitch and Jamie leave the zoo.

* * *

It isn't until later that evening, with a bottle of beer in his hand and the cursor blinking on a blank page on his laptop, that Mitch decides to go over his conversations with Jamie Campbell again. He's well aware that he's procrastinating, but, he thinks as he takes another sip from the bottle, here's him not really giving a damn.

He's put in a decent shift already today, heading to the zoo on one of his rare mornings off because the Director of the Zoo had called him personally. Although, Mitch figures, a fatal attack on three people was probably worth putting off a day of lesson planning and thesis marking.

Still, he's pretty sure he's owed a quiet evening of sitting back and doing nothing after performing two necropsy's and picking up numerous pieces of lion dung...

If he's honest with himself, the highlight of his day had been the unexpected phone call earlier that afternoon.

The thought of which, inevitably, leads his thoughts back to Jamie Campbell.

The journalist had certainly intrigued him, right from the moment he'd twigged that she wasn't interested in a job in the veterinary sector but was, in fact, trying to dig around for information about the lion attack.

He twists the card she's given him in his free fingers, pausing every so often to take in the series of digits on the back. It's been a while since he'd been given a number by a beautiful young woman who wasn't solely interested in an adjustment of their grades. Feeling slightly foolish at being so concerned with a random woman's number, Mitch stubbornly places the card on his desk for a few moments, before picking it back up and stuffing it into his nearby wallet.

She'd been a refreshing breath of fresh air, Mitch admits to himself, as his fingers now tap idly over the small pile of assignments that he still can't be bothered to go through.

Miss Campbell's tenacity in believing that Reiden Global was the source of the attack riled him slightly. Sure, he'd heard the rumors about their growing use of pesticides, had even done a _little_ research into it himself, but c'mon, how many animals were fed on that same food and _hadn't_ killed numerous people?

She was, Mitch mused, nothing if not persistent though. She'd clearly done her homework, sprouting off facts about zoos and attacks and Reiden's feeding process, but Mitch wasn't entirely convinced that there was any evidence linking them to the aberrant behavior of the lions; just a load of hyperbole and rumor.

He swivels in his chair slightly to face the window of his apartment, and takes in the rapidly setting sun; the LA sky turning pink and orange and red with each passing minute. It's a quiet night, peaceful; just the kind he wants... no.. _needs._

Mitch sighs and takes another pull of his beer, savoring the refreshing taste of the cool liquid before returning his gaze to his laptop. He's determined to do _something_ with his evening that might prove worthwhile; it's just the getting started thing that's causing him issues. He casually picks up the top assignment off the pile, but gets no further than the second paragraph before he's bored senseless and flings it back to it's original resting place, frustrated.

He sighs once more and taps determinedly away at his laptop for a few minutes, outlining a vague lesson plan for his class the following afternoon. He could teach it with his eyes closed, but the Dean continues to pester him about protocol and professionalism, so Mitch complies, more out of necessity for a steady paycheck than a lingering obligation to the young people who occasionally inhabit his classroom.

The document finally completed, saved and ready to print the following morning, Mitch finds his thoughts wandering to Jamie Campbell again. Something that she said niggles at him, bothers him to such an extent that he reaches out for his laptop and opens the browser.

He pulls up Google and types in an inquiry about missing cats in Brentwood, but doesn't find anything of note, just a couple of Facebook posts and a local Neighborhood Watch news page. He's lived in LA long enough to know that the local wildlife occasionally encroaches on the more built up areas, but anything that took cats on a regular basis would have to be large, but ultimately discreet; maybe a mountain lion or a coyote. Anything larger, like a bear for example, would surely have been spotted by a member of the public.

Mitch's search ultimately proves to be a waste of time, with no reports of large predators for several months. Therefore, he decides, clearly the cats are just wandering off to socialize and haven't made their way back. It's not as if anyone would want to _kidnap_ a large number of cats. Right?

Mitch shakes his head as he attempts to forget all about Jamie Campbell and her missing cats; he's got better things to do with his time. Honestly.

He spends another five minutes trying to read through another of his students awful essays before he gives up entirely. The papers are promptly discarded on his desk once more and Mitch sneaks another glance out of the window into the peaceful evening.

 _There's just_ something _about those damn cats,_ Mitch thinks.

He swallows the rest of his beer and stands, turning off his laptop and making his way to his truck.

* * *

The neighborhood of Brentwood is little over half an hours drive from his home in Venice, but Mitch tries not to over-analyse that particular fact; driving around in pursuit of what could turn out to be nothing on the word of an over-enthusiastic journalist is something that should probably concern Mitch. He finds, however, that he can't bring himself to care; if there _is_ something happening to the domestic cats in Brentwood he can at least make himself useful for once and try and figure out just what it is.

He tries to ignore the fact that actually _finding_ something would give him the opportunity to speak to Jamie Campbell again.

Shaking his head at his own thought process, Mitch concentrates on trying to spot something in the darkness.

He spends a good twenty minutes driving around, fingers tapping idly against the wheel as he decides which direction to take at the next intersection. Fortunately he's ended up in a quiet residential area, so there isn't too much traffic to get in his way. Still, Mitch grows increasingly frustrated at not seeing anything, and he's just deciding to head home when he spots something crossing the street in front of him.

It's definitely a cat, Mitch notes, and it's _definitely_ a pet, seeing as the Siamese breed was rarely seen in the wild. The cat meanders across the road, completely nonplussed at the large vehicle that it's holding up, and carries on over a patch of grass.

Mitch immediately maneuvers his car over to the best available parking spot, which happens to be outside of a local elementary school.

He spots the Siamese almost as soon as he pulls up to the curb, and Mitch hops out of his truck, flashlight in one hand and his keys in the other. He hastily locks the truck and stuffs the keys into his pocket before he switches the flashlight on and trails after the pet cat.

Fortunately, the it's not going at any great speed, so Mitch is able to amble after it almost casually. If anyone were to observe him now, it'd just look like he was on a late night stroll. Granted, not many people took a flashlight with them for a casual walk, nor were a majority in pursuit of a domestic cat, but, Mitch thinks, now isn't the time to be worrying about semantics.

After a couple of minutes the Siamese stops and looks around, and Mitch makes out it's tiny nose sniffing the air. It lets out a soft, low, meow, almost a purr, and Mitch briefly wonders if Fluffy is just lost and trying to find its way back home.

As if to prove him completely wrong, the Siamese he's been tracking suddenly dashes up a nearby tree, so quick that Mitch is lucky to track the movement.

He glances up into the tree, following the beam of light from the flashlight he's still holding.

"Shit!" Mitch mutters as he catches sight of not just the Siamese he was pursuing. There must be at least a good dozen cats sitting among the branches of the tree, which is, quite frankly, slightly terrifying.

The hissing and soft mewling of the felines is enough to put Mitch on edge, so he backs away slowly, digging into his front pocket for his keys as he approaches his truck.

It isn't until he's safely in the cabin of his truck that he pulls his cell from his front pocket and the card with Miss Campbell's details from his wallet. He opens a new message and quickly types out a note to the inquisitive journalist. She had, after all, wanted to be kept informed if anything came to mind, and Mitch is pretty certain that a large number of domestic cats hanging around in a tree is right up her alley.

 _Hey, he types, it's Mitch Morgan. Can you talk?_

He waits a few seconds, before he quickly decides to send a second text, mainly because he's not entirely sure she'll respond to a random message with no context.

 _I found the cats._


	3. Of Crushes, Conversations and Coffee

A/N: So glad to be writing for these two again, very happy that my inspiration's come back with the new series! I've got the next 4/5 scenes pretty much written out too, so hopefully I'll be updating fairly regularly from now on...

Set mid-way through 01x02, after Mitch and Jamie's conversation with Aspen the zookeeper.

* * *

Jamie tries not to feel too uncomfortable at the loud screeching and hollering of the different animals around her as she watches Aspen walk off. It's strange, but a sense of unease falls over her, as if the animals are watching her. Observing. Calculating. It's incredibly disconcerting.

She looks up at Mitch to see if he's giving off any indications of feeling the same but he seems distracted by his own thoughts as he walks beside her.

His hands are shoved in his pockets again; his strides long but slow enough to allow Jamie to keep up. He's reluctantly offered to take her for coffee while they wait for Aspen to organize the experiment on one of the lions later that evening, so they wander off in the direction of the exit.  
"So," Jamie starts, looking up at him as they head out of the African mammal exhibit and past the reptile house, the two of them carefully winding their way through masses of children and prams and families, "you and Aspen seem pretty close."

She's not even sure _why_ she says it. Probably just to get a rise out of the man on her right; Jamie's found, in their very short acquaintance, that Mitch Morgan is a remarkably easy man to tease.

Mitch merely shrugs and comes to a steady halt, and Jamie stops beside him to wait for an answer. A howler monkey bellows in the distance but she ignores it in favour of concentrating on Mitch.

"We've worked together for about 5 years, so yeah, we're friends I suppose."

Jamie scoffs at him as he says the words. He immediately turns to face her, a scowl evident on his brow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jamie laughs at the expression on his face. It's a good distraction from the squawks and roars and howls of the animals in the enclosures that surround them. She feels goosebumps rise up her arms but tries to pay them no mind. Instead, she smiles at Mitch and answers his thinly veiled accusation.

"Nothing, it's just… well it's pretty clear that Aspen has a little bit of a crush on you there _Mitchell_."

She emphasizes his full name to prove a point and she's satisfied to see Mitch cough and stuff his hands even deeper into his pockets as he stands before her.

"Look, Aspen's just a friend. She's just a bit…" He pauses as he tries to find the right word, " _eager_ on occasion. She seems to think I need to associate with people more, so she likes to keep an eye on me."

Mitch, Jamie notices, is blushing slightly, just a fraction, around his ears. It's quite endearing and she grins, eyeing him mischievously.

"So you and she have never…?"

She trails off, but the implication is there. Mitch merely rolls his eyes and huffs.

" _No_ ," he says emphatically. "It's not, it's not like that."

He glares at Jamie a little, who holds her hands up in surrender.

"Hey, I was only asking," she replies, a smile on her lips and a shake of her head as a means of apology. Jamie honestly hadn't meant to hit a nerve, so she instantly pulls back. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Whatever," Mitch answers, before he carries on towards the zoo exit. "Let's just go get some damn coffee."

He walks off briskly, leaving Jamie behind for a second, and he refuses to look back. Jamie laughs to herself at his attitude, then quickly follows.

Mitch is waiting for her just outside the exit, a frown on his face as he watches a family carrying bags of stuffed toys and souvenirs towards their car. He gestures towards the street to their left without speaking and Jamie quickly falls into step beside him, content to walk in silence.

They escape to a small cafe a couple of blocks from the zoo. Jamie slips into a booth at the far end of the room, while Mitch disappears and joins the queue to get their coffee. Jamie watches him carefully, takes in the way he stuffs his hands in his pockets, the almost bored look on his face, the way he runs his hand through his hair in irritation as the man in front of him takes an age to place his order. She's known very few men like Mitch Morgan, Jamie thinks, as she sees him finally reach the counter and order. He's determined and smart, she can tell, but Jamie's not entirely sure he's on her side. Not yet anyway.

It's reasonably quiet in the cafe, just the usual hustle and bustle of students and LA tourists. Mitch eventually reappears and slips a tall cup of coffee in front of her as he sits in the seat opposite. Jamie dumps her usual amount of milk and sugar into her coffee, while Mitch takes his black.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, both of them sipping their respective drinks. Mitch taps his fingers against the Formica table, while Jamie keeps her hands wrapped around her cup, welcoming the heat that radiates through it. She wonders, as she people watches out of the cafe windows, just _how_ everyone can be so calm about the zoo incident. It had only been a couple of days before, and yet tourists and visitors are still flooding into City of Angels as if nothing had happened. It frustrates her no end and she furrows her brow in annoyance. Mitch, cup halfway to his lips for another drink, spots the look and tilts his head questioningly.

"What's up?"

Jamie just shakes her head in dismissal of his question.

"It's nothing, just thinking."

"Right."

They lapse into silence again, before Jamie, finishing her drink, looks back up at Mitch.

"So what's the plan? Y'know, if Aspen can get a lion for us."

He shrugs slightly.

"I guess the first thing would be to check the neural oscillations of the lion using an electroencephalograph and then…"

"Yeah, okay, hold on a second there," Jamie interrupts, holding her hands up and shaking her head. "I don't know what that means. Not all of us are experts in veterinary pathology Professor; think of who you're talking to…"

Mitch takes in Jamie's confused look before he nods and continues. "I'll check it's brain waves using an EEG," he explains, before he elaborates. "I'll do that to see if there's anything unusual present; brain waves are normally a good indicator if there's anything amiss in the transmitters across an animal's body; epilepsy, tumours, strokes and the like, plus it's non-invasive. Then I'll take some blood samples, see if there's any trace of this 2 4-D chemical you mentioned. If the lions have been ingesting it in their food for the last couple of months then there'd be some evidence in their blood work."

Jamie nods, mainly because she has no idea just _how_ they're going to prove a link between the 2 4-D and the change in animal behavior to anyone, even if they find something. But, she figures, Mitch Morgan is probably the best person to help her in that regard; he seems to know what he's doing at any rate.

After Mitch outlines what he plans to do if Aspen can get them a test subject, he surprises Jamie completely by asking about the research she's been doing into Reiden. Jamie smiles and starts explaining about how she'd found out about 2 4-D in the first place, about the chemical spill in Folsom, about the far reaching fingers of Reiden Global and their products.

Mitch, surprisingly, seems genuinely interested in what she has to say, and it's halfway through their second coffee and a half eaten basket of fries, that Jamie realizes they've been having an in-depth discussion about the company that killed her mother and her hometown. It's apparent, Jamie thinks, as Mitch stretches slightly and glances at his phone during a lull in conversation, that he's been intrigued by Reiden's activities just as much as she, but he's never had the urge to investigate fully.

Jamie looks out of the window, noting that the sun's starting to set outside, the dimming light casting long shadows on the buildings opposite the cafe. A trail of people are walking down the street and the traffic outside is starting to pick up; the zoo must have closed and the visitors are now heading home. She glances at her watch and realizes that she and Mitch have been sitting in the booth for a good hour talking about this and that. It's been… nice. Especially when the time's been spent with a man who'd told her only the night before that he preferred it when people weren't around. Jamie ponders just what that could mean when Mitch's phone suddenly starts to ring and she watches as he digs it out of his pocket and glances at the Call ID.

"Aspen," he mutters, ignoring the grin that crosses Jamie's face. Instead, he answers the call and continues to have a very quick conversation; it's over before Jamie can really think about it.

"We can head back to the zoo now," Mitch says, signaling for Jamie to stand and precede him out of the door. "Aspen's got us a lion cub for the evening."

"A lion cub?" Jamie asks, a broad smile spreading across her lips, "how cute!"

Mitch just sighs dramatically, places a warm hand on her back, and encourages her to exit the cafe and set off towards the nearby lab, where they'll hopefully find something that will help their investigation.

Jamie gets the feeling that tonight might just be the kick-start to this whole thing that she's been looking for.


End file.
